Religious-righters are twisting and redefining “religious liberty” so much that the term itself is in danger of becoming almost meaningless. Fortunately, a growing number of mainstream religious leaders from around the state are calling out the nonsense. The latest battleground: public subsidies (such as vouchers) for religious schools. The rabidly anti-gay, religious-right group Houston Area Pastor Council, which also goes by […]
Religious Right Watch
The religious right strategically uses religion and religious language, combined with patriotic symbols, to push a political agenda that has little connection to the values of mainstream people of faith. It is, in short, a political rather than religious movement. The Texas Freedom Network has monitored the religious right in Texas since 1995.
Resources
- The Rise of the Religious Right in Texas (2006 Report)
- The Religious Right and the State Board of Education (2008 Report)
- The Religious Right and Sex Education
- The Bible and Public Schools
- How the Religious Right Hijacked the National Day of Prayer (2005 Report)
- The Texas Restoration Project
- David Barton Watch
Yeah, Sure, Really Funny
Over the past two weeks, the world has been marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan and the end of World War II. This weekend, the Facebook page for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller took the anniversary a step further and posted an image suggesting that the United States should duplicate the end of […]
Dave Welch: We’re in the ‘Presence of Evil’ in HERO Fight
By now you know that the Texas Supreme Court ordered the city of Houston to either repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) or put it up for a vote in November. Here’s something else you already know: The opponents of the ordinance — which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, […]
Gov. Abbott Joins Religious-Right Gathering in Austin
The Texas Renewal Project event scheduled for later this month will have another notable speaker: Gov. Greg Abbott. We already wrote about this event, but the addition of the state’s top elected official appears to be new, according to an email invitation that went out late last week. Abbott will join former Arkansas governor Mike […]
Texas Group Worries International Baccalaureate Program Is Turning Students into Leftists
The folks over at Texas Eagle Forum, the state chapter of Phyllis Schlafly’s far-right organization, are worried that “leftist” ideology is infiltrating the state’s public schools through the widely respected International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Seriously. Writing in the group’s May newsletter (which is now available online), Texas Eagle Forum Vice President MerryLynn Gerstenschlager wrings her hands over students […]
